Wednesday, May 30, 2012

"In theory, there is no
difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is." - Yogi Berra

As many of
you know, I am a lifelong acolyte of a spiritual fraternity that bends
knee to the one true gang engaged in thenational pastime of the United States: The New York Yankees. Sometimes referred to as; "the Bronx Bombers" , "the
Bronx Zoo ", "Murderer's Row” ,"the Evil Empire", "the
Pinstripes", "Damn Yankees,", and my very own construct - “The
Oligarchy of October. I make this claim
– the NY Yankees are the only real baseball team in the business. Everyone else is just trying to be them. They have won 27 World Series, 40 American
League Pennants, 17 Division titles, and 4 wild card berths (for years when George
Steinbrenner could not shut his mouth and let the team do what they do best).

I come by this zeal
honestly. When I was a kid I attended
Yankee games and got the chance to meet some of the greats of the team at that
time; Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, and the one true philosopher of
the franchise…Yogi Berra.

“What? That’s absurd! He never made sense at all! All answers to my stance on Yogi, and I stay
firm on my belief on his abilities as a philosopher. His record as a player and a coach stands for
itself and does not need repeating. His
words do, however.

The above quote about theory and
practice hit a chord with me when I read it this morning. I have some “issues” going on at the moment
which have brought me to that place where I clamor to know, on a philosophical
level, what the hell is going on. The
“issues” are of a Basic Needs level and my needs are barely being met at the
moment. I have experienced somewhat of a
downturn in my life and desperately seek respite. I am currently without personal
transportation for an inability to pay the monthly vig on the car note (in a
town with woefully inadequate public transportation) and my internet was turned
off for the same inability to pay. I
haven’t been in real bad straits as I have a friend who willingly picks me up
to take me wither and yon. That is,
until he decided to go on vacation with his girlfriend.

I have been stuck in my house
with no internet except that which is accessible on my 3G smart phone for a
week. Without an ability to upload and
download files, my income as a freelance writer came to a screeching halt. Well, truth is that it wasn’t traveling very
fast in the first place so coming to a stop is not the catastrophe it might seem. Combined with health, home and happiness
issues this has presented to me a rather dismal experience.

So here comes Yogi and the truth
about theory and practice. There are
many reasons why a well-educated man can achieve and maintain a comfortable
lifestyle, that is, at least in theory.
In practice, it comes down to another thing. In practice a life is only as successful as
the person pursuing it.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.” This is what American’s claim in the foundational document the
Declaration of Independence states. It
is not a legal set of rights in that it had no force behind it to ensure these
rights. But it is a really great idea.

Pursuant to this, I launched an investigation into
self for the purpose of attempting to obtain my share of these rights. I have definite ideas and feelings about our
founding fathers and those words are for another place and day. What I read in this famous quote from history
is that these rights I yearn for (especially the happiness part) are given to
me by God! It is not for me to search
any further then the conversations I have with the Power Greater then myself in
my life.

This calls for the employment of
activities directly related to the attainment and retention of God’s will in my
life. But how does this happen? Quite simply I find it eminently helpful to
awaken in the morning and recognize the relationship I have so far developed
with this mysterious creature that most of the world believes in and who goes
by many names. The mystery of God is
central to the practice of accepting and being certain of His intentions toward
my well-being. His presence is not required on a corporeal level, and has most
assuredly been absent since I first heard that God loves me at the knee of my
Dear Sainted Mother.

So what is there left to do? If I cannot see Him, and, and I cannot touch
Him, I cannot hear Him how do I know he is real? I have faith.
Faith in the everlasting message I have come to as a result of bad times
such as I am experiencing. This particular
downturn of life events is not the first time for me and, perhaps, may not be
the last. Each time there have been occasions
occur that challenge explanation which have altered my reality for the
better. This time will be no
different.

Now what or how “better” is
achieved is not of my making or design.
Well, usually that is. Becoming an
HIV/AIDS counselor happened as a result of worshiping my God with a group of
people ministering to that population.
The experience changed me evermore in that I became intimate with people
who I never would have, and, it helped to show me the way to the miracle of
recovery.

Becoming a teacher happened at
the end of another “dry spot” in my life and it allowed me to associate with
children with difficulties in their lives where my education and life
experience could be an instrument of God’s will. I never wanted to be a teacher, but the
feeling I received the first time I looked in a young man’s eyes and saw the
light bulb of discovery pop on, will stay with me forever.

It was during another of my “recessions”
that I opened a book and had the opportunity to read something I had written
and got paid for. That feeling has happened
several times since and WILL occur again.
How do I know? I have faith.

Faith takes practice and is not overly
zealous where it comes to theory. Theories
must be proven, and often suffer many setbacks before a positive
conclusion. Faith simply takes
practice.

The best way I can explain it is
with an old joke I once heard about two fellows going to a circus. They arrive
at their seats only to see a monkey on a shortened version of a high wire
sitting at one end behind a wheelbarrow.
One guy turns to the other and says:

“Do you believe that monkey will
pick that wheelbarrow up and cross that wire safely?”

“Sure,” the other guy proclaims, “they
wouldn’t have it there if he was going to fall!”

Sure enough the trainer blows a
whistle and the monkey picks up the wheelbarrow, walks on the line to the other
end. Once there he turns the wheelbarrow
around and sits down.

“Now,” the first guy asks his
comrade, “do you have faith that the monkey will do it again?”

“Absolutely!”

“Okay then, go sit your ass in the
wheelbarrow.”

So what is my point? I’m just looking for a monkey with a
wheelbarrow.